Everybody Needs Practice
by Team Damon
Summary: During the war, Steve is nervous about his kissing skills or the utter lack thereof and is convinced he'll only disappoint Peggy someday. Bucky offers to let Steve practice on him. What could possibly go wrong?


**A/N: look, two posts in one day! I've had this done for a week or so, just a little Stucky fun that came to me in a random idea and then I had to do the thing. I'm gonna be real honest, my dudes - Stucky went from darn close to NOTP status pre-Civil War to "okay in very specific rare instances" after CW to now full blown OTP and I just... yep. That's why suddenly I'm posting all these random Stucky things every month or so lol, and I'm also writing a giant follow up to Daybreak that'll cover the two years between CW and IW. So yeah, I'm a mess. OH WELL. Can't halp it.**

 **My thanks to midnightwings96 for humoring me and my flea-sized attention span and for her unfailing help and support, and to MorningGlory2 for her undying enthusiasm, AND to you wonderful amazing readers for being, well, amazing :D hope you guys like it! :)**

"All right, Steve," Bucky said, sitting down on the small, uncomfortable mattress against the wall of Steve's room, bottle of whiskey in hand, "tell me what's so important that I'm missing out on vital sleep to sit here in your fancy room and drink this cheap whiskey I may or may not have stolen from that bar last week."

Steve shut his door and sighed, running a hand through his ruffled hair. "First of all, this room isn't fancy. The floor is more comfortable than that bed."

"Yeah, but you don't have to fall asleep listening to Dugan snoring and Dernier cussing in French in his sleep," Bucky pointed out. "But I get it. Perks of being the Captain, right?"

"I didn't ask you here to talk sleeping arrangements, Buck," Steve replied, already a little exasperated. "I need your help."

Bucky took a drink from the bottle and then held out his arms and gestured to the spot next to him on the bed. "I'm all ears, pal."

Steve took a deep breath and nodded, sitting down next to Bucky and taking the whiskey hesitantly when Bucky offered it. He knew he couldn't get drunk or feel much of anything but maybe the placebo effect would help settle his mind a bit, he thought as he down a mouthful and grimaced at the burn. He handed it back and said, "All right, so... you're good with... women."

Bucky paused, brows lifting by a fraction. "Usually."

"You know how to talk to them and how to..." Steve waved a hand at nothing in particular. "How to... act... around them."

Bucky took another drink, looking increasingly confused but curious where this was going. "Mhm."

"I need... advice."

Bucky blinked. "Can you be... a lot more specific?"

"Peggy," Steve sighed, eyes briefly shut in frustrated. "Carter. Agent Carter."

"Yeah, I gathered that much," Bucky replied. "Pretty obvious. I have eyes."

Steve gave a half-hearted glare in response to Bucky's sass. "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm screwing everything up with her already and I don't know what to do."

Bucky knocked back some more of the whiskey and offered it to Steve again. "What happened?"

Holding the bottle but not drinking from it, Steve frowned and decided to just blurt it all out and get over it. "You know Pvt. Lorraine?" At Bucky's nod, he quickly added, "Well she cornered me yesterday and she - she said she wanted to thank me on behalf of all the women whose husbands I saved in Azzano. I told her - I don't even know what I told her because the next thing I knew she was grabbing my tie and pulling me into the corner and she -"

Bucky's eyes widened. "What, she blow you?"

Steve stared at Bucky in horror, utterly scandalized. " _No she didn't_ \- she - _Bucky_ , no, she didn't - God she just kissed me!"

Bucky deflated, clearly disappointed. "Oh. Well dammit. _That_ would have been a story."

Steve narrowed his eyes at his friend, trying to get back on topic. "Point is, she kissed me and Peggy caught us. Then I made a fool of myself and asked her if she - if her and Howard - well, I didn't really ask exactly, more _accused_ , and then I thought fondue meant -"

Bucky was utterly lost. "You did _what_? And fondue?! What about fondue? Does someone around here have fondue because -"

"Nothing about fondue," Steve blushed, wanting to banish the memory of his regrettable misinterpretation of the word. "Forget about that. I just need help figuring out what to do from here so I don't lose my chance with Peggy."

"...Well," Bucky said after taking a deep breath and taking back the whiskey that Steve only just then realized he was still holding. "First step is stop kissing other women."

"I know," Steve nearly whined, "but it just happened! I just... I froze."

"Well, I can't blame you," Bucky shrugged. "Lorraine's a pretty lady and you're... not used to that kind of attention. Was it at least a good kiss?"

Steve shrugged, staring off innocently as he recalled those hazy few moments. "I... think so. It's not like have a lot of experience to compare it to, but... yeah, best I've had, I think." Then he grimaced and shook his head. "Couldn't have been good for her, though. I kissed her back and all but I have no idea what I even did. She probably hated it."

"Steve," Bucky chuckled gently, "I'm sure you did fine. Kissing's easy."

"Maybe for you," Steve muttered. "You've had practice, I haven't."

"Well... do you want advice on kissing or Agent Carter, because..."

"Both, maybe?" Steve shrugged, looking at Bucky with that slightly wide-eyed, lost _please help me_ sort of look that Bucky had seen from him a lot before in the past for much different reasons. "I guess I could use the pointers if we ever get that far. Though now I don't know if we will. She told me I must be like all the rest of the guys in the Army now. Then she shot at me."

It took a few seconds for those words to click in Bucky's head. When they did he swung his head around and asked with a squint, "She did _what_ at you?!"

Steve shrugged, thinking back to that mildly terrifying moment. "She was testing a new shield Howard gave me."

"... Well that's one way to do it," Bucky muttered, taking another drink. "Jesus."

"Yeah."

A few more seconds passed before Bucky snorted and, in another delayed reaction, said, "Like all the rest? _You_? Just because you kissed another woman? Give me a fuckin' break. It's not like you and Carter are engaged. You can kiss whoever you wanna kiss."

While Steve agreed with that in theory... "I wanna kiss Peggy though," he replied. "I don't wanna kiss any other women."

"Which is fine," Bucky replied. "But still. She shouldn't be giving you hell over Lorraine laying one on you. S'stupid."

"Well... you might be a little bit biased there," Steve told him with a smile. "Being my best friend and all."

Bucky shrugged and passed the whiskey back to Steve, who decided to drink some this time. "Still the truth. But if you want my advice... you should probably apologize. Not for kissing someone else because that's stupid, but for being an ass to her after. And... whatever the fondue thing was. And then you move on. Don't grovel or anything. Dame like her... she's not gonna like that."

"What's she gonna like?" Steve asked, kind of desperate to have a clear idea of what the helm to do from that point on.

"Well, she's tough as nails and you and I both know she's probably had to fight like hell to get here," Bucky said. "She can take care of herself but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still treat her the way your mom taught you, you know? Gotta always have respect, put her first, all of that. But she doesn't _need_ you. She'll be just fine without you. She knows her worth and she ain't gonna waste her time with someone who ain't worth it."

Steve stared at his friend, thoroughly impressed and a little confused. "You get all that just from being around her what... a week?"

Bucky shrugged and snatched the whiskey bottle back. "I know the type. Got the battle scars to prove it."

Steve chuckled quietly, nodding and looking away. "Yeah, guess you're right."

"And the kissing thing," Bucky added as an afterthought, "don't even worry about that or think about it. Thinking's what'll get you in trouble. You just gotta go with it and get the hang of it, get a feel for what she likes. Eventually it's just second nature."

Steve furrowed his brows, fingers fidgeting in his lap. "I don't know about that. Seems complicated."

"What the hell seems complicated about it?" Bucky asked incredulously. "It's just kissing. It's not diffusing a bomb or building a flying car."

"It's just... I don't know. I never know what to do with my tongue," Steve admitted with an embarrassed flush. "Or my hands. Or anything."

"Because you're thinking too much," Bucky replied without missing a beat. "Like I said, you're not supposed to think. You're supposed to _feel_."

"But how can I _not_ think when it's this beautiful woman and I'm scared to death of doing the wrong thing and making her run away?" Steve asked. "I don't know what's too hard or too soft, or too much or not enough, or -"

"Well, you'll figure out all of that with practice," Bucky shrugged. "That's how I learned. That's how everybody learns."

Steve took a deep breath and let it go, shaking his head and running a hand over his face. "Really wish I could have gotten all of that out of the way _before_ Peggy."

"Well," Bucky sighed, "that's the boat you're in, so..." Then he paused and joked with the whiskey bottle halfway to his mouth, "Unless that's your roundabout way of asking to practice on me."

Suddenly it was so quiet in the room it almost made Steve's ears ring a little. He stared a bit wide-eyed at Bucky and Bucky didn't notice until he glanced at Steve mid-gulp and then promptly choked, sputtering and coughing before asking hoarsely, "Fuck, _is_ that what you were asking for?!"

"No!" Steve immediately all but gasped, shaking his head and cheeks catching fire. "No, I wasn't! I just wasn't expecting -"

"I mean, if you really needed the practice -"

They each spoke those words at just about the same time and fell silent immediately afterwards, staring at each other in confusion.

Steve squinted. "What?"

"What?" Bucky shot back slightly defensively.

Steve paused and, much more softly and bewildered, repeated, "... _What?_ "

"Never mind," Bucky shrugged with a nervous huff of a laugh. "Just tryin' to help, but -"

"No, I didn't mean it like that," Steve blurted before he could think twice. "I just meant... really?"

"Really what?" Bucky asked, seeming a bit irritated or embarrassed or perhaps a bit of both.

Steve hesitated but clarified quietly after a moment, "You'd... do that?"

Bucky pretended to be nonchalant, shrugging one shoulder while the faint blush on his own cheeks gave away how foolish he felt. "Wouldn't be the worst thing I've ever done to help you out. And you were the one complaining about wanting practice, so -"

"Yeah, I just didn't think it was an option," Steve replied honestly. The thought had never even entered his mind as a possibility. " _Is it_ an option?"

"One time offer," Bucky sighed, leaning forward and taking one more drink before setting the bottle down on the floor. "Expires in 3... 2..."

"Okay, okay," Steve laughed, feeling ridiculous and definitely confused and way off kilter but for some reason deciding it was unacceptable to let the chance go by without taking it. "All right. If you're sure."

"S'just kissing, Steve," Bucky replied. "I'm gonna show you how it's not that big of a deal."

 _Okay_ , Steve thought. This made sense. Bucky knew what he was talking about, after all. He had years of experience and was the authority on these kinds of things as far as Steve was concerned, so if he said it wasn't a big deal, then it wasn't a big deal. This was exactly why he was considering this in the first place - he needed kissing to be less foreign, less scary, less of a big deal in general.

Bucky sat further back on the bed, angling towards Steve and pushing his hair back and off of his forehead before looking at the slightly frozen Steve expectantly. "Are you gonna come here or -"

"Oh," Steve nearly gulped, nodding and feeling like his body was made of jello as he scrambled to get closer. This part was awkward and he felt it on every level imaginable despite the unrivaled comfort level he shared with his best friend. All the more reason to do this with him and not someone else, Steve rationalized. If this was Peggy, he shuddered to think of how much more idiotic his behavior would be.

He resettled next to Bucky again, looking at him nervously and having a hard time maintaining eye contact until Bucky noticed and muttered, "Steve, it's _me_. You don't gotta be nervous with me. It's Carter you're trying to impress, remember?"

"Right," Steve nodded. "Sorry."

"First things first... relax," Bucky chuckled. "Take a deep breath. If you're all nervous and tense your chances of knocking your teeth together are a lot higher."

"Okay," Steve nodded again, treating Bucky's words as seriously as a military order and following them without question, though he couldn't quite shake the anxious thrill in his belly.

"All right. Now," Bucky scooted closer, "in my experience one of the best things about a kiss - 'specially a first kiss - is the anticipation of it. You do it too fast and it's not as good, take too long and you kill the moment. What you want to do is," he reached out and cupped Steve's jaw, not surprised when Steve jumped but quickly settled after, "make her wait just long enough to build that tension."

Bucky began leaning in slowly, eyes dropping to Steve's parted lips before darting up to his eyes. "Eye contact is important too," he murmured, watching Steve stare at his lips instead. "Hey, Steve. You listening?"

Steve's eyes shot up and his blush returned. "Oh - yeah, yeah. Sorry."

Bucky grinned and chuckled. "It's okay. Just making sure you're paying attention."

"I am," Steve assured him, voice much more whisper-y than he'd intended. He couldn't help it - his heart was pounding and he was more than feeling that anticipation Bucky had been talking about.

"So then," Bucky said softly, close enough to brush their noses together, "once you lean in, you wait _just_ long enough to get her heart racing... and then when it feels right you just..."

Even though Steve knew exactly what they were doing and what to expect, and even though it was far from his first kiss, the first brush of Bucky's lips still somehow caught him by surprise. It was soft and innocent and it reminded Steve of the first kiss he'd ever shared with a girl, a cute and tiny little brunette back in 11th grade, tentative and sweet and over nearly as quickly as it began.

Bucky drew away and it took Steve a second or two to open his eyes. When he did, he met Bucky's gaze and nodded when he asked, "Get all that?"

"Yeah," Steve replied, some small part of his quickly faltering brain wondering why he felt like he'd just been knocked over by a gust of wind.

"Good. 'Cause now I'm gonna show you the good stuff," Bucky grinned in a way that Steve had never seen directed to him before. He opened his mouth to ask what he meant but then Bucky's lips were on his again, this time much more firm and sure but still gentle, and the confidence in Bucky's kiss took Steve's breath away.

The first touch of Bucky's tongue made Steve jump again and freeze, and that made Bucky draw away and murmur, "See, that's what you don't wanna do."

"Sorry, I just -"

"Just follow my lead, Steve," Bucky told him quietly, tilting his head to the side and adding before capturing his lips again, "I've got you."

That was all the reassurance Steve needed to quiet his nerves and let it happen, his eyes falling shut as he melted into the kiss and let the skilled, sometimes dizzying strokes of Bucky's tongue quiet the noisy thoughts in his head. He'd never kissed anyone like _that_ before, never had a kiss grow so deep and especially not with someone so damn good at it. Bucky kissed like he was born to do it, his lips soft and perfect and his tongue nudging Steve's and encouraging him to play back. Steve obliged, if a bit timidly at first. It felt so strange and yet not at the same time, and he couldn't make sense of it. After awhile, he stopped trying to.

"That's good," Bucky murmured the first time he drew away, not going far and neither of them opening their eyes. He took Steve's hand, previously frozen at his side, and drew it to his waist and laid it there before explaining, " _This_ is what you do with your hands. You touch." Then he kissed Steve again, and this time Steve kissed back much less shyly and with a little more confidence. Steve's hand stayed where it was for a few seconds before sliding down closer to Bucky's hip, testing the waters there as he grew bolder in their kiss.

The first time his efforts drew a quiet groan from Bucky, it nearly shook him to his core and definitely filled him with pride. "See," Bucky groaned against his lips, "s'no big deal."

Steve tried to reply, but all that came out was a quiet moan before he leaned forward and kissed Bucky himself, initiating for the first time and meeting no resistance. He was vaguely aware on some level that this thing might be on the verge of spiraling out of control but he didn't care. It was all for a good cause after all, all for practice, and he'd be grateful for it once he did the real thing someday.

The next time they came up for air, Bucky drew away with a gentle but sharp little bite to Steve's lower lip. Steve moaned in a way that surprised them both, their eyes opening and connecting in silence punctuated only by their heavy breaths and the unspoken questions of just where this was going.

Bucky drew a shaky breath and dragged his hand down Steve's shoulder, licking his kiss-swollen lips before murmuring, "When you touch her... start like this." His fingers dragged down Steve's arm and back up, then slid down his side, tracing along the side of his chest as he went. "Don't grope, but don't be shy either." He smoothed his palm over Steve's hip and down his thigh. "Watch for what she likes. She'll let you know. And when you really want her to melt for you... do this." He leaned in and pressed his lips to Steve's neck, and Steve didn't know what else to do but slide his fingers into Bucky's hair, close his eyes, and try not to moan the way he wanted to.

Bucky's mouth was nothing short of a weapon, and the way he used it on Steve's neck was like nothing he'd ever felt before. He knew that Bucky had to know that, had to know that he'd never had anyone touch him like this before, had to know how overwhelming it would feel to have him pinpoint all the most sensitive places Steve himself knew nothing about and utterly torture them. He didn't leave marks but he sure as hell showed off, and the end result was leaving Steve an utter mess of quiet moans and heavy breaths and arousal more painfully hard than he'd ever felt in his life.

Bucky himself pulled away panting, his heated eyes and reddened lips a thing of beauty as he looked up at Steve and said, "Try on me now, Steve."

Steve didn't hesitate. He reached out and wrapped a hand behind Bucky's head before pressing his lips to the side of his neck, determined to return the favor and prove that he could make Bucky feel just as good as he had made Steve feel. What he lacked in experience he made up for in sheer determination, and he proved that the first time his teeth grazed Bucky's pulse point and made the man shudder and groan a rough and unexpected _fuck, Steve_ , words that set Steve aflame and made him do something even he hadn't seen coming.

He didn't realize he'd been slowly pushing Bucky down until he opened his eyes and saw Bucky lying on that thin mattress beneath him, neck now covered in multiple little bruises because Steve wasn't nearly as careful as Bucky and because he hadn't realized quite how carried away he'd gotten until he saw the evidence. Steve nearly panicked until Bucky opened his eyes and looked up at him in a dreamy, hazy sort of way and reached up to pull him back down with a lopsided grin and a pleased, "See? You're a fuckin' natural."

Then they were kissing again, neither man holding back any longer nor able to think clearly or barely at all. Bucky was starved for affection and desperate to forget the war, forget what he'd endured, having all but forgotten what it was like to be touched like that until then, and Steve... well he'd never felt a damn thing like it before in his life, especially once Bucky's hands moved to his hips and they started grinding together through their clothes.

It made Steve shudder and moan into Bucky's mouth, the sensation eclipsing anything he'd ever felt from his own hand and he didn't understand how that could be but it was true. Bucky started tugging on his shirt and Steve let him take it off of him without a second thought, trying to do the same to Bucky but leaving it simply pulled up and over his chest when the idea of separating long enough to get rid of it and lose the sudden skin to skin contact for even a moment proved simply unbearable.

Bucky's hands were all over Steve, roaming up and down his back and his sides and shoulders and his hair, murmuring against his lips, "Still not used to you like this."

Of course he wasn't, Steve thought. Steve himself wasn't even used to the changes yet. "Sorry," he gasped into the negligible space between them, thrusting down a little faster now and feeling like he might lose it at any moment.

Bucky shook his head slightly and kissed him again. "She's gonna love this," he told Steve, kissing his jaw in between words. "Gonna love you. You feel so damn good, Steve."

Those words washed over Steve like a hurricane and left him barely hanging on, resting his forehead against Bucky's and asked breathlessly, "You sure?"

Bucky moaned, their rhythm growing mutually erratic as he replied in a rough, heated tone that left no room for doubt, "God, Steve, if she won't fuck you, I will."

Those words were all Steve needed let go, ecstasy crashing through him and leaving him crying out into Bucky's neck under the force of the best release he'd ever had, the first and thus far only one he'd shared with someone else. Bucky was right behind him, the sight and sound of Steve coming apart above him sending him over the edge and leaving him grasping at Steve's back and at his hair, feeling truly _good_ and weightless for the first time since he shipped out to war.

The aftermath was a pleasant, unexpected, mildly confusing haze. Steve laid on top of his best friend, breathing against his neck and brain slowly clearing returning to reality now that the heat of the moment was dissipating. It suddenly hit him what they'd done, the full weight of it sparking the unmistakable first stirrings of panic within, but those faded at the sound of Bucky muttering underneath him, "Not to complain or anything but... you're _really_ heavy now and I can't breathe, so -"

"Sorry," Steve quickly replied, shifting off of Bucky in a hurry but smiling when he saw the way Bucky was grinning as he sucked in a deep breath. Steve laid next to him and let out a deep sigh, unsure of what to do or say next and deciding to do and say absolutely nothing as a result.

Bucky, as usual in Steve's opinion, saved the day when he turned his head towards Steve and gave him a small, affectionate smile. "You're about to lose it, aren't you?"

Steve shook his head, looking away from Bucky and towards the ceiling. "Nope."

"Just relax, pal," Bucky rolled his eyes, reaching over and perhaps trying to pat Steve's shoulder but more or less groping him instead. "S'just practice."

"That was... a lot," Steve argued quietly, still staring at the ceiling.

"That was hardly anything," Bucky scoffed. "Our pants are still on and everything."

Steve closed his eyes and sighed. "Buck..."

"Steve."

He opened his eyes and found Bucky much closer now, on his side and leaning over Steve as he looked him in the eyes and said, "Stop it. Stop thinking. You wanted practice - I gave you a hand. It felt good. It felt really, _really_ _fucking_ good. That's all there is to it."

Steve stared at him skeptically, not nearly so easily able to qualify what they had done and define it so neatly. But Bucky was the expert here and Steve trusted him like nobody else. "Are you sure?"

"Course I am," Bucky grinned. "Don't start doubting me now, Steve."

Steve nodded. "I'm not."

"Good." Bucky nodded back and grew quiet, looking Steve over and letting his eyes linger along his broad chest and narrow waist, all those muscles that he wore so well despite how strange their existence still was. Then he looked up and met Steve's gaze and leaned down to give him one more short, gentle kiss as he repeated softly, "Good."

And then, all too soon after his lips left Steve's for the last time, he turned away and climbed out of the bed. Steve watched as Bucky got to his feet and pulled his shirt down and fixed his pants, ran his fingers through his hair so he wouldn't look so disheveled and obvious in case anyone happened to see him leaving Steve's room like that. Steve sat up as Bucky reached down and grabbed the whiskey bottle, turning and tossing Steve a grin. "See you tomorrow, pal."

Steve nodded, giving a lighthearted salute as Bucky made his way to the door. Just before he reached for it, Steve called gently, "Buck?"

Bucky stopped and turned. "Yeah?"

Steve hesitated only for a moment before asking quietly, "Everything you said during... when we were... did you mean it all?"

They both knew what he was primarily asking about, the words _if she won't fuck you, I will_ hanging in the air between them. Bucky simply gave Steve that lopsided little grin of his and replied, "Course I did. I never lie to you, Steve."

Steve nodded, the truth of those words beyond reproach. Bucky opened the door and slipped out of it then, shutting it softly behind him and leaving Steve alone with his thoughts and the mess that Bucky had made of him.

He huffed out a breathless laugh and laid his head back down, closing his eyes and then sighing long and deeply. He was sure that he'd overthink what happened that night until he was blue in the face starting the next morning but for then, he'd choose to believe everything Bucky had said and just relax and enjoy the unexpected night for all that it had been.

Besides, he supposed, everybody needed practice sometimes.


End file.
